T.
The submissions were in by the 20th of last month, all 53 of them and you can see them all in the submission gallery. The judges then what they had to do and would have scored the submissions after much thought and I know it wouldn’t have been an easy task. I’ve also done my bit and now we have the winners for the March edition of Does My Blog Look Good in This?(a.k.a DMBLGiT?).
Before I announce the winners, I’d like to say a big thank you to all of you who sent in your photographs, to my lovely judges (Lynn Daley, Sylvie Shirazi, Aisha Yusaf, and Soma Rathore), and to Andrew Barrow whose brainchild this event is.
As you’re all aware, the judges pick 6 winners in all – 3 overall winners (1st, 2ndand 3rd), and then one winner in each category of Edibility, Originality and Aesthetics.
Here are this month’s winners. Hearty congratulations to you all!
Please check your inboxes as you will soon be receiving your badges.
Overall Winner – First Place : Monika of Sweet Sensation
Adzuki bean and butternut squash soup
And the judges said,
“Nice rustic charm and a delicious looking soup.”
“Love the light and the rustic arrangement. I really like angle and that you can see all the ingredients in the soup, especially when “brown” food can be really difficult to photograph. The dollop of Crème fraîche/yoghurt with the red chilli are nice little additions along with the herb garnish, makes the dish look even more appetising. Nice choice of red pot as well. Nicely done overall!”
“The dark wooden table set off Monika’s adzuki bean and butternut squash beautifully. The trivet was a nice touch placed slightly off center as was the garnish to show some detail and texture. The scattering of green added to the comfort feel of the dish along with the rustic board and the casually broken pieces of bread. The crumpled linen napkin and ladle completed this lovely arrangement. Lighting-also very good.”
Overall Winner – Second Place : Pamela Rodrigues of Uno de Dos
Home-made Doily Pancakes ForValentine’s Day
And the judges said,
“Love at first sight. Every little detail of the photograph is beautiful; the subtle drip, the fruits in the background, the colors and of course the food so beautifully in focus. My eyes travel all over the frame without distraction and finally rests on the pretty plate in front.”
“Beautiful light and colours, the setting is casual yet very elegant and inviting, especially the pancakes, very original.”
“Pamela’s pancakes were not only perfectly photographed with the lovely background depth of field showing a breakfast setting, but subdued as not to take away from the perfect doily pancakes and syrup with a tantalizing drip down the side of the pitcher. I like the diagonal line of the tray in the background making a nice frame to keep one’s eye in the photograph. Also, the photograph was very evenly lighted.”
Overall Winner – Third Place : Sneh Roy of Cook Republic
And the judges said,
“Beautiful vintage presentation. Love the style and the text on the board and the canvas adds to the warmth of the photograph.”
“Excellent both technically as well as artistically.”
“A simple composition which is enhanced by the vintage feel/ colours. The print details on the wood and the canvas provide an interesting touch. “
Winner – Edibility Category : Miriam Garcia of El Invitado De Invierno
And the judges said,
“Cozy, rustic, warm. The light is just lovely. The mood and the setting makes me want to break a piece out of the bread right away.”
“Beautiful lighting.”
“Gorgeous light and textures with the lovely brown tones. Makes me want to reach out and cut a slice!”
Winner – Originality Category : Alessio Fangano of Recipe Taster
And the judges said,
“Love the mood of the photograph and the light on the pomegranates. I would do without the dried rose.”
“Unique styling.”
“Unusual styling and the dark tones (black and silver) bring out the jewel like quality of the pomegranate. The rose and the grey tea pot/ kettle in the background are a bit distracting.”
Winner – Edibility Category : Vania Samperuru of Adventurelicious
Traditional Melting Moment, Bangket Keju
And the judges said,
“Perfectly styled with very pretty details.”
“Interesting composition. The cropping style adds to the photograph. Even though there are different elements, they balance out and the food (cookies) is still the important element.”
Before I end this post, I would like to say something about the way this event (and many other similar ones) is judged. I know some may wonder why one particular photograph is chosen over another because I have thought this myself many a time. I would also like to add a disclaimer that this is solely my viewpoint about this and does not reflect the opinions of either the originator of this event, or those of my judges.
The last time I had hosted DMBLGiT?, we had an instance where all my judges each got an anonymous e-mail, and a rather rude one at that, questioning the judges on their authority and capability to judge food photography.
Then sometime back I was invited to be a DMBLGiT judge, and
when the winners were announced, a commenter was unhappy with the results and expressed this impolitely. It seems this is the perfect occasion for me to clarify a few points about the way these events are judged.
For DMBLGiT?, Andrew has put down definite criteria/ parameters according to which judges look at a submission and score it. So judges would score a food photograph based on composition, styling, presentation, originality of the composition, exposure and the use of light, colours and props or the lack of them, the focus on the subject, etc. Each judge will also bring his/ her own unique view to the judging table, according to their particular preferences or perceptions about what they like in a photograph.
So while there is bound to be some variation in the scores, my experience shows that mostly, the judges tend to end up picking the same top 10 scorers give or take a couple. Also, the final results are an aggregation of all the judges’ individual scores and sometimes that means the results can go either way.
It is important to understand that food photography competitions are not necessarily only about which photograph depicts good looking food but also which photograph makes you look at food differently. Sometimes food photography can be less about food in the traditional sense and more about art! It can be about thinking differently, breaking the mould and getting creative like in painting, where one size does not fit all. So while I find Salvadore Dali unpalatable, there are plenty of people who enjoy his work!
Competitions like DMBLGiT? are about recognising and acknowledging good food photography on blogs, and the effort that goes into it, and need to be seen in that spirit.
The April edition of DMBLGiT? will be hosted by Wendy of La Phemme Phoodie so please be on the lookout for her announcement post for details on participating.
Please write to Andrew if you would like to host an edition of DMBLGiT? I hope you will come forward as this event will meet an untimely demise for lack of hosts.
The photographs in this post have been reproduced with permission.
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